Trump throws tantrum, forces White House to declare war on impeachment investigation

As the 2020 United States Presidential elections loom closer, sitting President Donald Trump has refused to participate in an ongoing probe into grounds for his impeachment, The New York Times reports. The investigation, launched by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic party, was placed on the political backburner for months before a whistleblower filed a complaint against Trump. After a second whistleblower came forward and numerous document subpoena requests were denied by the Trump administration, the White House has finally announced its official stance: it will not cooperate. Essentially, the highest office in the country refuses to follow constitutional protocol, placing the American people in jeopardy. It is possible now for The President to be charged with severe obstruction of justice.

In a letter signed by White House counsel Pat A. Cipollone and sent to House Democratic leaders, the White House argued that the House of Representatives had denied President Trump his due process rights in a manner that negated both his need and desire to willingly provide testimony and documentation as part of several subpoena requests. It was the "unprecedented" behavior exhibited by the House that prompted the executive branch's non-cooperation. Cipollone asserted. "Your unprecedented actions have left the President with no choice," he wrote. "In order to fulfill his duties to the American people, the Constitution, the executive branch and all future occupants of the office of the Presidency, President Trump and his administration cannot participate in your partisan and unconstitutional inquiry under these circumstances."

In essence, the White House contended that calling for President Trump's impeachment... would lead to impeachment. Thankfully, this circular and blatantly unconstitutional reasoning was not lost on government officials nor on American citizens. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi immediately affirmed in a statement, "The White House should be warned that continued efforts to hide the truth of the President’s abuse of power from the American people will be regarded as further evidence of obstruction. Mr. President, you are not above the law. You will be held accountable."

Of course, the President cannot just choose to not participate in an impeachment investigation — it's not the Vietnam War, after all. Nonetheless, the Republican Party and Trump himself have attempted to characterize the impeachment as a partisan initiative — a Democratic pet project, if you will — rather than a protection of American Democracy. In accordance, Cipollone wrote, "Many Democrats now apparently view impeachment not only as a means to undo the democratic results of the last election, but as a strategy to influence the next election, which is barely more than a year away."

As the call for impeachment roars on, there are a few things to be noted should the United States escape King Trump's reign. Firstly, the House of Representatives is a co-equal to the executive branch, and impeachment is solely its responsibility. Pelosi controls the mechanisms for impeachment, and the White House's non-cooperation is reason enough to file against the Trump administration for obstruction of justice. Moreover, the White House's stance on cooperation is, without question, unconstitutional. By withholding information from a co-equal branch of government under the legally false claims is not only unlawful but also premeditates a constitutional crisis. Finally, if you're wondering what you can do to help the investigation, you can call your Congressmen and Senators accordingly to ensure they vote and fight to protect American democracy and its voters. It's time to impeach this law-evading clown of a President.